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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27109462">After dark</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/real_fanta_sea/pseuds/real_fanta_sea'>real_fanta_sea</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Against all odds [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Grand Theft Auto V</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Family Bonding, M/M, Other, Post-North Yankton, Secrets</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:40:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,024</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27109462</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/real_fanta_sea/pseuds/real_fanta_sea</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the successful escape from his own trap, Michael relocates back to Canada where he lives with Trevor. However, it is not exactly the happily ever after fairy tale he hoped for.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Michael De Santa/Trevor Philips</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Against all odds [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1978756</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>After dark</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This but a short, loose continuation of what happened after North Yankton alternate aftermath. I hope you enjoy this shortie ;)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The room was dim, lit only by dying flames in the fireplace. The air was thick, even with an occasional breeze which slipped in trough swaying curtains.<br/>A trail of clothes on the red-brown terracotta floor led to a massive king size bed. A man laid face down over legs of the second one who sat with his back planted into the padded head of the bed comfortably, both sweaty and delightfully tired.<br/>Michael absentmindedly dragged his finger over an expanse of hot tattooed skin of Trevor's back, an untouched pack of cigarettes beside him.<br/><br/>"You know, for an old guy, you have great stamina, and your cock is just...Mmmm...."<br/><br/>Trevor's deep purr, uttered in between consciousness and sleep, tugged on corners of Michael's lips and made him chuckle. "We're the same age, idiot."<br/><br/>Trevor slowly propped himself on his elbows, chin planted in between palms, and threw a wide, lovesick smile Michael's way, eyes still heavy with exhaustion. "Yeah, but I am younger on the inside."<br/><br/>"You sure are, baby."<br/><br/>It occurred to Trevor there was more behind Michael's tired eyes than there should be after a couple of hours of lovemaking.<br/>If he were to guess, he would say there was something seriously troubling him. The way his gaze averted and his thumb circled around the spot on Trevor's shoulder, the same where a bullet entered a couple of months ago told Trevor more than a thousand words could. He still decided to break the silence and make Michael spill his worries for him.<br/>"Whatcha thinking about sugar?"<br/><br/>Michael blinked a several times, his thread of thoughts severed and raised both eyebrows on the sight of Trevor watching him with a slightly nervous adoring smile.<br/>Well, he might as well tell him - who else than him would understand? Michael let a sigh escape his lips first before he spoke.<br/>"It's the divorce, T."<br/><br/>Trevor gulped heavily and slowly pressed himself next to Michael, seeking his presence. "Does it... Is it troubling you?"<br/>Trevor didn't want to describe what pictures his panicked mind offered him. He didn't want to admit he was suddenly squeezed tight by the thought of Michael changing his mind, leaving him. Instinctively, he took Michael's hand in his and intertwined their fingers.<br/><br/>"Of fucking course it does" Michael wiped the sweat away off his face with his free hand and let his head fall back onto the padded headboard. "I spoke to Mandy today."<br/><br/>With the dreaded name out in the room, Michael felt Trevor's hand squeeze him tighter for a split second. He knew Trevor was anxious, the air around them heavy with his unspoken question.<br/><br/>With a sideways glance, Michael could tell how tense and alert Trevor was beside him - eyebrows shot up his forehead and lips pressed tight together.<br/>One part of him wanted to draw out the tension and watch how flames reflected on Trevor's fast pacing chest, how shadow puppets of insecurity trashed inside his head, how much Trevor wanted him to stay. Only a slight tremble of Trevor's chin clawed on his heart enough to hurt him just as much as he was hurting his lover.<br/><br/>"No, I'm not leaving, T, it's just..." He gulped and suppressed a sob. "I won't see the kids again"<br/><br/>Michael's throat was half its usual size suddenly, and knots in his stomach kicked around them to be noticed. For the first time in forever, he felt hopeless and alone.<br/><br/>Closing his eyes, he continued, silently grateful Trevor pulled him into a tight side-hug and rested his chin on Michael's shoulder. The hot puffs of air Trevor breathed into his neck, his calloused fingers gently brushing his skin, his mere presence, those were all the reassurance he needed.<br/>"She spoke to a lawyer and got full custody and a restriction order."<br/><br/>Trevor pressed his lips against Michael's neck in a brief thank you before he replied. "What a bitch, eh?"<br/><br/>Michael twitched under him, his voice dangerously low. "Careful, T, you are talking about the mother of my kids!"<br/><br/>Trevor knotted his eyebrows, poking Michael's chest with his index finger. "Excuse me, Mikey, but she IS a stupid fucking cow! They are YOUR kids, YOU are their father, and they NEED YOU in their life!"<br/><br/>Michael shrugged, sighing inwardly. He was too tired to handle angry Trevor. He might as well let him rant. It didn't matter anyway.<br/><br/>"How did the lawyer even approve of such bullshit?"<br/><br/>Michael's chuckle was void of any humour.<br/>"Well," he turned his head to look Trevor right into eyes, "apparently, it is illegal to be a bisexual in North Yankton."<br/><br/>"WHAT?"<br/><br/>"You heard me, T. It's against the law for me to be with you."<br/><br/>Trevor barked out a laugh, refreshingly honest and crispy after his silent anger act.<br/>"Aww Mikey, and I thought this thing we have couldn't possibly get any better" a pair of strong hands pulled Michael closer into a heartfelt hug. "it's illegal, morally corrupt and against Jesus to love you and all those things just make me wanna marry you right here right now, so we end up in hell together."<br/>Trevor nuzzled his nose into Michael's neck, taking in all the scents hidden there.<br/>"I wouldn't stand to share eternity with some anonymous prick. I want to share it with my favourite Irish asshole!"<br/><br/>Michael stroked Trevor's hair and planted a small kiss to the top of his head. "Yeah, I'll enjoy watching you swim around in boiling maple syrup, buddy."<br/>Trevor's hair was soft under his palm as Michael continued to stroke it. With T pressed tight into his arms, the world suddenly wasn't the cold unforgiving place he knew from his noirs, but it was damn close to it. "Seriously though, I can't see them till they are 21. That's..."<br/><br/>"8 years for Tracey and 10 years for Jimmy" Trevor murmured from under Michael's jaw.<br/><br/>"Yeah, that much. But I still have to pay alimony and school expenses."<br/><br/>"That's fucked up, bro."<br/><br/>"Yeah, tell me about it."</p><p>A moment of silence provided Trevor with a sudden idea. "What does the paper say about me?"<br/><br/>Michael opened his eyes and looked at Trevor, puzzled out of his comfort zone. "What do you mean?"<br/><br/>Trevor sprung up to flash Michael with an intense look.<br/>In a second, he sat with his back straight, seriousness written all over his face. "Am I allowed to see your kids?"<br/><br/>Michael shrugged and scratched his sprouting stubble. "I dunno, probably? I mean, Amanda didn't mention you explicitly..."<br/><br/>Trevor's eyes beamed with mischief "I've got an idea."</p><p> </p><p>*****</p><p><br/>"Hey uncle T, can I have a bit more cotton candy?" A pair of curious blue eyes watched Trevor with a strange intensity.<br/><br/>"Do you promise to get high on sugar, stay up all night and trash your room?"<br/><br/>"Uh, yeah?"<br/><br/>"Go for it then - here, buy as much as you want."<br/><br/>Chubby fingers plucked crumbled banknotes from Trevor's hand happily and were gone in an instant. "Thanks, uncle T!"<br/><br/>"Anything to piss your mother off, cupcake!"<br/><br/>Trevor thought of fluffy puppies as he watched Jimmy hop around the cotton candy stand. He was always ready to spoil his favourite couple of gremlins, and the amusement park was one of his favourite destinations. The fact that Tracey flipped off a teacher when she tried to stop her from skipping school, and that Jimmy faked tummy ache only to sneak out and spend some time with him gave the occasion a curly glitter edge.<br/><br/>"Hey, uncle T, not to be pushy, but do you have another one?"<br/>Tracy shuffled her converse clad feet and looked up at him. She has changed, Trevor noticed. She grew a lot in the past two years. Her slender frame drowned in the oversized black hoodie and her legs were more of sticks sprouting from under her plaid mini skirt—the only reminder of the sweet, big-mouthed girl he used to know where two blonde pigtails.<br/><br/>"Sure thing, sweetie. Here." Tracey snatched the plastic package from his hand and pushed it against her chest with a sweet little smile. Trevor's heart broke just from the sight, but he said nothing.<br/>"I have another gift today too, baby."<br/><br/>Tracey's mouth formed into a little "o" and her eyes questioned him silently.<br/>Trevor let a smile warm up his face when he fished a pair of plastic flip phones from his jacket's pockets and handed them to Tracey, who gasped and whooped upon the sight.<br/><br/>"Oh my God!!!! Did you buy us Mobitela Vectors? Like, seriously?! That's so COOL!!!"<br/><br/>She jumped around him and ended up assaulting him with a fierce hug, so powerful it made Trevor stubble back a couple of steps and laugh. "I've saved your pa's number on both of them too, you can text or call him anytime you want."<br/><br/>Suddenly serious, Tracey stopped her cuddles and looked up to him. "But mom said we are not allowed to..."<br/><br/>"Fuck that bitch" Trevor grinned, "you're fifteen, you can do whatever the hell you want!"<br/><br/>The glint in Tracey's eyes was back and flared with her desire to rebel.<br/><br/>"He misses you terribly, honey. We both do."<br/>Trevor stroke her hair and relished at the moment they shared.<br/><br/>"Yeah, we kinda miss him too."<br/><br/>"Kinda?" Trevor teasingly tickled her under her chin, eliciting a childlike chuckle out of her.<br/><br/>"Ok ok, we miss you both terribly." She sighed, serious again<br/>"I wish we lived with you and daddy. Mom's new husband is nice, but he teaches math at our school, which is honestly so. awkward!"<br/><br/>Trevor chuckled, squeezing her tighter. "Does he hurt you? Because if he does I'll..." and nudged her cheek with his fist playfully.<br/><br/>"Nah, Neil's cool, he would never hurt anyone - you know how dad's really well built?"<br/><br/>"Be careful, Trace, this smells like Alabama!"<br/><br/>"Ewww, uncle T! Gross!" and she proceeded to kick the laugh out of his mouth by aiming at the sweet spot on his shin.<br/>"I wanted to say Neil's the exact opposite - gawky and geeky, but mom moans a lot at night, so they are probably happy."<br/><br/>Trevor felt a pang of anger for Amanda to let the sweet girl listen to her obscure mating sessions with the bony plank guy,<br/>but opted to let it go when Tracey squeezed his hand. "Are you happy with dad too, uncle T?"<br/><br/>For a moment, Trevor just listened to the fast pace of his heart, reminiscing about Michael and how he looked when he kissed him goodbye that morning.<br/>Tracey was watching him closely and grinned with satisfaction. "Oh, you are happy, huh? You are blushing!"<br/><br/>"Yeah, sweetie, I am actually as happy as a clam!" He let his hand pet her hair the same cautious way he did when she was a toddler.<br/>"I love your dad very much." And once he saw a teasing pout on her face, he added with a chuckle "And you too, dolly! Our little family is the best thing that's ever happened to me."<br/><br/>"When will we see you again?"<br/><br/>"You know the rules, sweets. Next month minus two days."<br/><br/>"Where?"<br/><br/>"Next time, we'll ride bikes on Vespucci beach," Trevor said and cocked his head towards bouncing Jimmy. The little glutton was gulping down enormous pieces of cotton candy, eyes wide and shiny on his chubby face. "He seriously needs to get in shape."<br/><br/>Tracey chuckled and checked her watch to make sure there still was time. It ticked faster against her will.<br/>"Please hug dad for me, will you?"<br/><br/>Trevor smiled lightly, but there was no happiness behind it. "I will."<br/><br/>"I'll miss you..." She said and buried her face into his plaid shirt.<br/><br/>"Me too, honey - but I'll see you again soon."<br/><br/>"Promise?"<br/><br/>"Promise. I'd never miss our secret date." He ran a thumb over her cheek and felt her despair seep through the skin.<br/>"Don't tell your mom, ok? And keep the phone hidden, she doesn't have to know."<br/><br/>"Ok, bye. Move it, Jimbo!"<br/><br/>"See ya, uncle T!"<br/><br/>The pier suddenly felt cold and unwelcoming with Tracey and Jimmy running towards the noisy, pulsing city. Trevor stood still and watched them disappear into the anonymous crowd.<br/>The only companion left was a smouldering redwood in his mouth, the taste of what became the essence of his life soothing him.</p><p>******<br/>It was way past her curfew when Tracey heard the switch on the other side of her door click, and a yellow stripe of light vanished into the sound of a pair of feet dragging someone into master's bedroom. The well-known clack of the door, followed by the low hum of the city, meant it was her time to do what she was shaking to all day.<br/><br/>Carefully, she put her bare feet on the carpet and tiptoed towards her closet door. A tired creek of hinges made her stop for a bit, but nothing but her own heart was to be heard in the dark.<br/>Good.<br/>With precision, she put her finger right into the middle of cold glass and dragged it lower where she felt a row of elliptic buttons. She pushed the biggest one and was welcomed with a flash of blue light along with the unmistakable buzz of static.<br/><br/>"Shh, keep quiet, Bestie..." she murmured silently as she felt around for her backpack. A quick search through her things and a couple of naughty words later, she held onto a simple VHS void of any note or label. She pushed it into the chubby slot under the screen impatiently, and the machine devoured the plastic with a tired purr.<br/><br/>"Come on, play," she thought as she made sure the volume was as low as possible.<br/>Finally, the static twitched and disappeared, only to be succeeded by the picture of Michael in a fitted suit. He waved into the camera nervously and put on a warm smile. Tracey chuckled and as silly as she thought it would be, she waved back.<br/><br/>"Hey Trace, hey, Jimmy! So, uh, you sure must be wondering why I have dressed up all fancy. Well, we - as in me and uncle T, are going to get married!"<br/>Tracey gasped and suppressed a yelp of happiness. She choked it with balls of her hands the best she could and bounced up and down to use up the sudden wave of energy. It didn't help when she imagined both her father and uncle T in fluffy white wedding dresses.<br/><br/>"However, we made a deal. I want you to be able to enjoy our day with us as a family, so we'll do it 8 years from now when Jimmy is 21. By the way - I wanted to say thank you for that hug and cake you sent me, even though someone we both know ate a good half of it before it was delivered..."<br/>The teasing smile and the muffled "hey! I was hungry, and the cake was so fucking good!" Did it for her again. The same stream of hot tears made its way down her smile stretched cheeks and dripped on her pyjamas. She didn't want to sniff and clean her nose into the cuffs too, but then she remembered what Trevor told her about pissing her mother off and made sure to blow it all out.<br/><br/>"Uncle T also told me grades are getting better for the two of you - your hard work makes us both very proud and happy! Tracey, the other day, we deposited the first part of your college funds, so keep it up!" Michael's face got serious for a slight moment before putting on a hurt smile again.<br/>"We miss you both so much. I miss you more than you can imagine. I'm so sorry we have wasted the time we had, but I'll make it up to you. I love you both so much. We'll be waiting for your call. We love you." The picture of her father on the verge of tears disappeared to make a place for greyish static once again.<br/><br/>Tracey's hand still lightly caressed the area where her father has been displayed and let her tears flow till they dried out. His words echoed in her head over and over again and made her shiver with a need to hug him and tell him she loved him too.<br/><br/>Wait a second... She could! Swiftly, she turned her backpack upside down and grabbed the brick-shaped plastic gadget once it fell out. Bright white display greeted her with a beep, and she navigated with ease through the menu to find contacts. Her hand was shaking a bit when she clicked through a couple of pre-set numbers to finally find "Papa" and pushed dial.</p><p>******<br/>Michael paced the room nervously. It was way past her curfew, why hasn't she called yet? He felt Trevor's gaze burning a spot on the back of his neck, and it didn't help that he offered to stay awake with him despite being visibly tired from the flight.<br/><br/>"Mikey, calm down. She will call."<br/><br/>"What if she's mad? Or doesn't want to talk to me?"<br/><br/>"Trust me, she isn't. Why would a girl who's mad send you hugs?"<br/><br/>"I don't know to appear friendly and then strike at the right time?"<br/><br/>"She would be a true daughter of her father then" Trevor teased a bit, only to receive a sharp frown and a taste of his trademark killing gaze.<br/><br/>Just as he was getting ready for a toxic remark, his words were choked by a ring of the telephone. Trevor sat up and exchanged an alarmed glance with Michael, who plunged towards the apparatus, snatched the receiver and shakily pushed it against his ear.<br/><br/>"Hi, dad."<br/><br/>Michael suddenly felt uneasy and nervous. Trevor's hand on his shoulder helped, but he still sought eye contact to make sure he's there and ready to help him.<br/>"Hey, honey."<br/><br/>"Thanks for the tape. All of them. And the phone. And for marrying uncle T. I love you..."<br/><br/>This time, it was Michael who felt tears slip out behind his strict guard.<br/>"I love you too, Trace."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'd like to thank you all for reading my works, leaving kudos and comments. Having someone read what I wrote is the greatest gift I could ask for. What is in it for you tickles my imagination - maybe you smiled, maybe you remembered your own partner and family, maybe you felt nostalgia for something you never had outside of a daydream. Thank you for giving me a chance to give it all to you with my writing.</p><p>edit: formatting fucks me in the ass real hard, but I'll learn how to get the upper hand eventually - thanks for your advice and patience, aintgonnaleaveyoumikey :) the format should be better now</p></blockquote></div></div>
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